Joint Honours African Studies Component (36 credits)

Program Requirements

The Joint Honours program in African Studies provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the African continent.

Students wishing to study at the Honours level in two disciplines can combine Joint Honours program components in any two Arts disciplines. For a list of available Joint Honours programs, see "Overview of Programs Offered" and "Joint Honours Programs". Joint Honours students should consult an adviser in each department to discuss their course selection and their interdisciplinary Honours thesis (if applicable). Joint Honours students are expected to maintain a program GPA of 3.30 and, according to Faculty regulations a minimum CGPA of 3.00 in general.

At least 9 of the 36 credits must be at the 400 level or above.

Required Courses (9 credits)

Overview

African Studies : The African experience and current approaches to African studies, through adopting multidisciplinary perspectives on topics that include political conflict, governance and democratization, environment and conservation, economic development, rural life and urbanism, health and illness, gender, social change, popular culture, literature, film, and the arts.

Overview

African Studies : An interdisciplinary research seminar on topics of common interest to staff and students of the African Studies Program. As part of their contribution, students will prepare a research paper under the supervision of one or more members of staff.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Philip Gooding (Winter)

Prerequisite: an introductory course in any of the disciplines studying Africa

Restriction: Open to final year Program students, and to others by permission of Program Adviser

* Honours Thesis course must be taken for the AFRI Joint Honours component. Students must meet the specific requirements regarding Thesis credits of their second program in addition to the AFRI 480 Honours Thesis.

Complementary Courses (27 credits)

Group A

Overview

Anthropology : The impact of colonialism on African societies; changing families, religion, arts; political and economic transformation; migration, urbanization, new social categories; social stratification; the social setting of independence and neo-colonialism; continuity, stagnation, and progressive change.

Overview

Political Science : The government and politics of African states south of the Sahara with reference to the ideological and institutional setting as influenced by the forces of tradition and the impact of Western colonialism.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Khalid Medani (Winter)

Prerequisite: A basic course in Comparative Politics or a course on the region or written permission of the instructor

Note: The area in the field of Comparative Politics is Developing Areas.

Group B

18 credits from the Group B course lists below drawn from at least 3 disciplines with no more than 9 credits from any one discipline.

African Studies

Overview

African Studies : Basic knowledge of the Swahili language and culture with emphasis on handling circumstances that might be encountered in field research: everyday conversation, developing aural and oral skills and mastering basic grammar rules, understanding cultural norms and practices, issues of culture sensitivity and appropriateness.

Terms: Fall 2017

Instructors: Angela Ngaira (Fall)

Note: Priority to students in the African Studies Program and/or participants of the Canadian Field Studies in Africa program and to students with a demonstrable need related to internship or research. Approval by African Studies Program Adviser required.

Overview

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Note: U2 and U3 students in good standing, normally after completing 30 credits of a 90-credit program or 45 credits of a 96-120 credit program, a minimum CGPA of 2.7, and permission from the departmental Internship Adviser. This course will normally not fulfill program requirements for seminar or 400-level courses.

Anthropology

Overview

Anthropology : Processes of developmental change, as they affect small communities in the Third World and in unindustrialized parts of developed countries. Problems of technological change, political integration, population growth, industrialization, urban growth, social services, infrastructure and economic dependency.

Overview

Anthropology : Exploration of dispute resolutions and means of social cohesion in various societies of the world. Themes: dichotomy between law and custom, local definitions of justice and rights, forms of conflict resolution, access to justice, gender and law, universality of human rights, legal pluralism.

Overview

Anthropology : Variations in herding systems over a wide range of habitats and involving a variety of species of domestic livestock. Comparative perspectives on the prehistory of pastoral systems, on the ideologies, cultures, and social and economic systems of nomadic pastoralists. Relations with non-pastoralists and the effects of change and development will also be examined.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Anthropology : The impact of colonialism on African societies; changing families, religion, arts; political and economic transformation; migration, urbanization, new social categories; social stratification; the social setting of independence and neo-colonialism; continuity, stagnation, and progressive change.

Overview

Anthropology : Contributions to contemporary anthropological theory; theoretical paradigms and debates; forms of anthropological explanation; the role of theory in the practice of anthropology; concepts of society, culture and structure; cultural evolution and relativity; interpretive anthropology, post-modernism.

Terms: Winter 2018, Summer 2018

Instructors: John Galaty (Winter)

Winter

Prerequisites: one 200-level anthropology course and one other anthropology course at any level

Restriction: Honours, Joint Honours, Major and Minor students in Anthropology, U2 standing or above

Overview

Anthropology : Study of environmental effects of development in East Africa, especially due to changes in traditional land tenure and resource use across diverse ecosystems. Models, policies and cases of pastoralist, agricultural, fishing, wildlife and tourist development will be examined, across savanna, desert, forest, highland and coastal environments.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Ismael Vaccaro (Winter)

Winter

Restriction: Open only to students in the Study in Africa program, a full-term field study program in East Africa

Prerequisite: One prior course in Anthropology, Geography or Environmental Studies

Overview

Anthropology : Instruction focuses on three goals: 1) existing research in selected core thematic areas, 2) participating in interdisciplinary team research, 3) developing powers of observation and independent inquiry. Students will be expected to develop research activities and interdisciplinary perspectives, and to become conversant with advances in local research in their field.

Overview

English (Arts) : Introduction to a selection of theories that have influenced thinking about difference across the humanities and social sciences, including gender, sexuality, race, class and hierarchical structures, language, religion, ethnicity, and personal identity.

Terms: Fall 2017

Instructors: Sarah Stunden (Fall)

Fall

Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

Geography

Overview

Geography : The course introduces the geography of the world economic system. It describes the spatial distribution of economic activities and examines the factors which influence their changing location. Case studies from both "developed" and "developing" countries will test the different geographical theories presented in lectures.

Overview

Geography : An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.

Terms: Fall 2017

Instructors: Thomas C Meredith (Fall)

3 hours

Prerequisite: Any 200-level course in Geography or MSE or BIOL 308 or permission of instructor.

Overview

Geography : Major themes and contemporary case studies in global health and environmental change. Focus on understanding global trends in emerging infectious disease from social, biophysical, and geographical perspectives, and critically assessing the health implications of environmental change in different international contexts.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Geography : Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).

Overview

Geography : Examines the geographical dimensions of development policy, specifically the relationships between the process of development and human-induced environmental change. Focuses on environmental sustainability, struggles over resource control, population and poverty, and levels of governance (the role of the state, non-governmental organizations, and local communities).

Overview

Geography : An examination of the cultural, political, and economic mechanisms and manifestations of contemporary underdevelopment and the response to it from different regional and national peripheral societies within the dominant world economic system.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Geography : A synthetic overview of physical and cultural geography examining particularly the relation of African peoples to their landscapes, the causes and consequences of environmental changes, and the idea of sustainable development as it applies to African landscapes, resource systems and economies.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Geography : Africa seems beset by development problems. Some of these appear to have no clear answer. Such dilemmas present significant barriers to moving forward with durable, effective development in Africa. This course will examine two primary and frequently interlocked dilemmas in East Africa with wide ranging impact - food security, and conflict.

Overview

History : History of South Africa from precolonial times to the present. Topics include: precolonial societies; British and Dutch colonialism; slavery in colonial South Africa; the Zulu kingdom; mining capitalism; the Boer War; Afrikaner nationalism; apartheid; the anti-apartheid struggle; music, religion, and art; challenges of the post-apartheid state.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

History : Exceptionally, and under the direction of a member of staff, advanced and highly qualified students who have an extensive background in the proposed area of study, may pursue this independent study.

Terms: Fall 2017, Winter 2018

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Prerequisite: Written permission

Restriction: Open to History Major Concentration students only. Students may register in this course only once.

Overview

History : The origins, structure and impact of the Indian Ocean World slave trade from early times to the present day. Enslavement, the trading structure, slave functions, reactions to slavery, emancipation and 'slave' diaspora. Comparisons will be made to the Atlantic slave system.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Islamic Studies

Overview

Islamic Studies : Assessment of the relationship between Islam and politics in the contemporary Middle East and Africa through various analytic themes, including political economy, social movement and gendered analysis.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Islamic Studies : A study of the Middle East from Napoleon's invasion of Egypt to the end of WWI. Emphasis will be on the emergence of nationalisms in the context of European imperialism; political, social, and economic transformation; religion and ideology; and changing patterns of alliances.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

No credit will be given for this course unless both ISLA 521D1 and ISLA 521D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

Political Science

* Note: Course is counted only when African materials are taught. Admission to this course will be subject to the Political Science departmental requirements and approval of the Departmental Honours Adviser. Priority will be given to Political Science students.

Overview

Political Science : An introduction to Third World politics. A comparative examination of the legacies of colonialism, the achievement of independence, and contemporary dynamics of political and socio-economic development in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Topics include modernization, dependency, state-building and national integration, revolution, the role of the military, and democratization.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Daniel Douek (Winter)

Note: The area in the field of Comparative Politics is Developing Areas.

Overview

Political Science : The government and politics of African states south of the Sahara with reference to the ideological and institutional setting as influenced by the forces of tradition and the impact of Western colonialism.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Khalid Medani (Winter)

Prerequisite: A basic course in Comparative Politics or a course on the region or written permission of the instructor

Note: The area in the field of Comparative Politics is Developing Areas.

Sociology

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Main concepts and controversies linking health to broader social and economic conditions in low income countries. Topics include the demographic and epidemiological transitions, the health and wealth conundrum, the social determinants of health, health as an economic development strategy, and the impact of the AIDS pandemic.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Exploration of the main development theories and discussion of how gender is placed within them, analysis of the practical application of development projects and discussion of how they affect gender dynamics, and examination of power relations between development agencies and developing countries. Examples from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America are used.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Focus on the sociological aspects of recent transitions to democracy within developing countries - particularly within Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Exploration of why democratization has taken place, to what extent it has been successful and the implications of democratization.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Examination of the social causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Gender inequality, sexual behaviours, marriage systems, migration, and poverty are shaping the pandemic as well as how the pandemic is altering social, demographic and economic conditions across Africa.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Sociology (Arts) : Comparison of alternative explanations of underdevelopment: the impact of social stratification, relations of domination and subordination between countries, state interference with the market. Alternative strategies of change: revolution, structural adjustment, community development and cooperatives. Students will write and present a research paper, and participate extensively in class discussion.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.